It likely will cost a little more to hunt and fish in Alabama next year.

The Department of Conservation and Natural Resource’s Conservation Advisory Board on Monday approved the increases to match the Consumer Price Index. The board makes recommendations on rules and regulations relating to department policy. State law allows the conservation department to adjust license fees each year based on the CPI.

Statewide, all game hunting license fees for residents went from $24.50 to $24.70. Resident freshwater fishing licenses increased a dime, from $11.70 to $11.80. Saltwater fishing licenses rose from $21.35 to $21.55.

“It may not sound like much, but the increase is needed to allow the department to continue to do it’s job,” Guy said. “A large part of our budget is fueled by license sales.”

The CAB’s action is subject to Legislative oversite. If the Legislature doesn’t act within 35 days, the increases go forward.

The department has five divisions: Marine Police, Marine Resources, State Lands, State Parks, and Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries.

The Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries and Marine Resources divisions don’t get any funding from the state’s General Fund. They operate off license sales and allotments the divisions receive from federal excise taxes paid on everything from firearms to boat sales.

“It’s the hunters and anglers that pay for all the conservation efforts in the country,” Gary Chance of Prattville said. He was recently shopping at the city’s Academy Sports and Outdoors store for a new trolling motor for his boat. “All the environmental activists and anti-hunters don’t want to admit that we are the ones footing the bill for protecting wildlife in this country.

“Every box of ammunition and every fishing rod bought in this country goes to pay for conservation.”

The Pittman-Robertson Act, passed in 1937, levied excise taxes on sales of guns, ammunition and other hunting-related gear. It later was amended to include taxes on archery equipment. Those dollars go to support wildlife projects.

The Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act does the same thing for the fishing side. Taxes are paid on rods, reels, boat and boat motor purchases and other fishing-related equipment.

Each year, the federal dollars are given to the states to fund conservation efforts. Each state receives a yearly percentage, then it receives funding based on the number of licenses sold, said Chuck Sykes, director of the Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division.

The entire state reaps the benefits of those excise taxes, he said.

“The money doesn’t just go to game animal programs, or hunting and fishing programs,” Sykes said. “If you enjoy watching bald eagles up at Lake Guntersville or watching birds in your backyard, you’re getting the benefit of those taxes. Most of our budget comes from those excise taxes.”

Records show that this year the Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries division budgets are:

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Wildlife programs: About $12 million, with $8 million coming from federal aid and about $4 million coming from license sales.

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Fisheries: About $9 million, with $5 million coming from federal aid and $4 million coming from license sales.

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Law enforcement: This year’s budget has about $14 million set aside for law enforcement. That budget is paid for entirely by license sales because federal law bans the use of excise taxes going to law enforcement, Sykes said.

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Marine Resources: Out of a budget of about $9.3 million, $2.5 million comes from license sales with the rest coming from federal aid or grants from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Hunting and fishing generates a huge economic impact in the state. In 2011, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service survey showed 948,000 people hunted and fished in the state and spent $1.9 billion. The wildlife service conducts the survey every five years, with the most recent report being released in 2012.

Those hunters and anglers paid federal taxes that year totaling $199 million and state taxes totaling $165 million, according to the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, which used the survey results to calculate the amounts. The ripple effect of hunting and fishing in the state generated an economic impact of $2.9 billion in 2011, the foundation figures show.

License fee costs

Statewide, all game hunting license fees for residents are expected to increase from the current $24.50 to $24.70. Resident freshwater fishing licenses are expected to go up a dime, from $11.70 to $11.80. Saltwater fishing licenses are expected to rise from $21.35 to $21.55.

NOTE:

If you hunt waterfowl in Alabama, you also must purchase a state and federal duck stamp.